Drawida pellucida var. typica (Bourne, 1894)

Kharkongor, Ilona J., 2018, Taxonomic and ecological studies on the earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) of West Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (1), pp. 56-56 : 56-

29. Drawida pellucida var. typica (Bourne, 1894)

1894. Moniligaster pellucida Bourne, Quart. J. Mic. Sci. , 36: 363.

1900. Drawida pellucida : Michaelsen, Das Tierreich, 10: 118.

1910. Drawida pellucida f. typica: Michaesen, Abh. Ver. Hamburg, 19: 48

Material examined: 1 ex. Regn. No. IV /ANN/NERC-39. India, Meghalaya, WKH District, Mawthadraishan Peak , N25 o 32’25.6”; E91 o 27’15.2”; Alt. 1933 m; 25.vi.2010, coll. I.J.Kharkongor and party .

Diagnosis: Length 75-190 mm. Segments 130-186. Prolobic. Lumbricine; seate absent in 2. Dorsal pores absent. Contracts its anterior end in a bulbous fashion. Body wall transparent.

Septa 5/6-8/9 thickened. Four or five gizzards, from segments 14-21. Testis sacs round or ovoid in 10. Ovisacs in 12.

Distribution: INDIA: Meghalaya (WKHD), Arunachal Pradesh and the Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu).

Remarks: Recorded for the first time from Meghalaya. It, apparently, is a high altitude, montane species. Like the previous species, this one too is classified as an endogeic – mesohumic species, having as its niche the upper 0-20 cm soil layer. It feeds primarily on soils from 0 – 10 cm strata.